


Growing Pains

by KaliopeShipsIt



Series: Alliteration-Verse [19]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Aiden Mpreg, Established Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Family Feels, Family Issues, Fluff and Humor, Insecure Derek, Kid Fic, M/M, Married Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Mpreg, Past Derek Mpreg, blended families - Freeform, fluff and a tiny bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-08-07 18:25:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7725055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaliopeShipsIt/pseuds/KaliopeShipsIt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek and Stiles are put in charge of Aiden and Jackson's gender-reveal party. It goes about as well as expected.</p><p>An Alliteration Verse One-Shot where Aiden and Jackson have their baby and Derek and Stiles continue to deal with the challenges - and joys - of parenting their five children.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Growing Pains

**Author's Note:**

> My Lovelies!
> 
> It has been almost 13 months since I last posted in this verse and that simply couldn't do, so I decided to do something about it! 
> 
> To everyone who is familiar with my verse: HI! Welcome back, I hope you haven't given up on this yet, there are still some stories to be told, even if the author's life is drastically different from back when she had all that time to write and post fan fic in 2014/15 ;). Not bad different (or at least my wallet begs to differ), but different enough to put a serious dent into my writing time. However, I am on a two week vacation from work now and my muse Alliteration Verse-Muse finally re-appeared long enough for me to do something about the empty word document "Jackson Aiden Mpreg" (I keep my working titles precise and super original) that's been sitting in my fan fic folder for one and a half years! This story takes place about 8 months after "The Wolf and the Lamb" ended.
> 
> In case you're like me and had to sit down and seriously think about how old everyone would be at this point in the story, let me help you out real quick: the fictional year is late July 2039, Leonie just turned 16, Noah is 12, Cas one and a half months shy of turning 9, and the twins are a month shy of turning 4. Jackson's kids are 12, 9, and 6 respectively. 
> 
> To any new readers: Hey there! So excited you decided to give this a shot! A word of warning, though: this story is part 19 in a series that started off with a couple of fun one-shots and then turned into a Derek!Mpreg themed family fic because I finally decided to take a shot at writing Mpreg. It features lots of original kid characters and this story alludes to a couple of things that happen in the earlier fics, so while I'd be thrilled if you decided to read this as a one-shot, I do recommend starting from the beginning (if Derek!Mpreg or Hale/Stilinski Kid Fics are your jam), otherwise I can see where it would get confusing really fast. 
> 
> Alas, enjoy this new story and I hope the next one won't take another year!

**July 2039**

“I still don’t see why _we_ were chosen to put together a gender reveal party!”

“What makes you say that?”

“We had a delivery surprise with the first one, I’m pretty sure Deaton still has nightmares about the second gender reveal, then another delivery surprise, one accurately determined gender, and a stubborn Maggie-Mule who kept us guessing ten doctor’s appointments in a row! That’s one out of _five_ where we actually knew the gender, I’m pretty sure asking us to be in charge of this completely jinxed it!”

“You’re still grumpy they didn’t go for your specialty candy-suggestion, aren’t you?”

“You bet I am! I mean, here I am, with access to a whole candy factory and a bunch of lovely food-designers who adore me and would have totally been willing to bend the rules and provide me with a batch of customized gender-reveal gummy babies and all they wanted was a boring cake! I mean, seriously Derek, a _cake_! How much more unoriginal can you get?”

Derek laughed, looking up from the cake batter he’d been stirring for the past minutes.

“Considering the fact that we had to spend an entire evening explaining that there is absolutely no correlation between baking cake and having a baby a couple of months ago I think it’s actually quite fitting,” he mused, grinning when Stiles almost snorted his coffee all over the kitchen table, clearly remembering Ellie McCall’s earnest declarations that her mommy and auntie Lydia usually ‘did it’ in the kitchen.

“Still,” the human continued after a moment, brandishing the tube of food coloring almost like a weapon, “they waited almost nine months to throw this party, at this point they might as well let it be a surprise!”

“Guess the suspense finally got the better of them,” Derek said, accepting the tube and squirting a generous dollop on the vanilla cake batter, and Stiles snorted again, dropping a kiss on Derek’s cheek as he went to re-fill his ‘Silly Daddy’ coffee mug Leonie had gotten him for last year’s father’s day.

“Not that they aren’t both one hundred percent convinced of what they’re having, they’re just … one hundred percent not in agreement.”

“Uh huh. Remind you of anyone we know?” Derek asked and Stiles grinned, abandoning his coffee mug on the counter and stepping up behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist and lightly trailing his fingers over Derek’s abdomen.

“Can’t think of anyone who’d fit that description. Not a single one,” he said cheerfully and Derek grinned as well, leaning back against Stiles’ chest to admire his handiwork.

“You know, I would have actually bet money on Aiden being right. He’s been so incredibly in tune with his body throughout the whole thing, I’m almost surprised he got it wrong.”

“There’s always the chance he’s just trying to mess with Jackson for being so overprotective, lately. I do recall him getting pretty frustrated with him the other day when Jackson tried to force him to take a nap even though he wanted to go take a walk with the girls.”

“You’re one to talk,” Derek said lightly and Stiles huffed, fingers splayed over Derek’s abdomen possessively.

“That was completely different! Aiden’s an OBGYN, he _knows_ what’s going on in there, but you had no clue the first time, got injured the second time, got _kidnapped_ the third time, and I’m not even going to start with the whole HG situation, so really, my over-protectiveness was completely justified every single time!”

“If you say so,” Derek mused, turning to capture Stiles’ mouth in a soft kiss.

“Ewww, Papa, Daddy, gross!”

Soft giggles rang through the kitchen and Stiles let out a long-suffering sigh against Derek’s lips, turning his head to raise his eyebrows at their twin daughters.

“You don’t even know what ‘gross’ means, so it’s very impolite to go ‘ewww’ at your parents,” he admonished them, cracking a smile against his will when Maggie giggled even louder.

“Do too, Daddy! Grown-up kisses are gross! They give you cooties!”

“Point taken, fair child of mine, point taken. Now … can you tell Daddy what cooties actually are?”

For a moment Maggie looked stumped, her blonde pigtails bobbing when she whirled around to look questioningly at Kara, but her younger twin just shrugged, her button nose scrunched up and soft brown hair flying through the air when she shook her head.

“Thought so!” Stiles declared triumphantly, wrapping his arms around Derek once more and dramatically dipping him before kissing him again, smiling against the werewolf’s lips when both girls started giggling again.

“What is that I’m hearing about cooties? Oh my god, is that the cake?!”

“No peaking!” Stiles said quickly, throwing a dish towel over the mixing bowl, and Leonie crossed her arms over her chest with a dramatic sigh, her exaggerated pout giving way to a grin when both of her sisters rushed up to greet her, one tiny almost four year old wrapped around each leg.

“How did your math test go, Leo-Pie?” Derek asked their recently turned 16-year-old oldest daughter, who’d grudgingly spent part of her summer break going to summer math classes to save her GPA, raising one eyebrow at her when Leonie groaned.

“Horribly, Papa, like every math test! I don’t even know why I bother anymore, I’m never going to get the hang out of this, even if I lived to be two hundred!”

“That’s the spirit, Trooper-Pie,” Stiles said drily, shaking his head when Leonie sighed dramatically.

“Maybe you should spend some more time studying with Will rather than hanging out with Charlie,” Derek suggested, quickly turning back to the bowl to hide his smile when both twins started giggling, “Cooties!” again.

Leonie huffed.

“We don’t hang out that much! I’ve got swimming practice after school every day this year and Charlie spent his entire summer break with his dad up in Tacoma! We didn’t see each other at all this summer, we could only talk on the phone!” she protested and Derek, who’d just fished the bill for her cell-phone out of the mailbox yesterday and could attest to just how much his daughter had talked to her boyfriend on the phone, shook his head with an amused smile.

“If you ask your little brother you and Charlie hang out _way_ too much,” Stiles teased her and Leonie grunted, disentangling herself from her baby-sisters and hopping up on the kitchen counter, craning her neck to peak into the bowl and grinning when Derek swatted the dish towel at her playfully.

As if he’d heard his name – and, given how far advanced their werewolf son’s senses were, Derek was pretty sure he’d actually overheard the conversation – the little brother in question chose that moment to bound into the kitchen, almost barreling Stiles over in his haste to get to the water bottle on the kitchen table.

“No running in the house!” Stiles admonished him just as their older son trampled into the kitchen right behind his little brother, significantly more out of breath than their werewolf boy.

“Sorry, Papa, I know I was supposed to keep him out of the kitchen until you were done but he said something about cooties, and …”

“No cooties! For anyone! Right Puppies?” Cas declared dramatically, nodding in approval when his baby-sisters nodded obediently and Leonie groaned, clearly having given up on sneaking a peak at the newest Whittemore baby’s gender when she hopped down from the counter and stalked towards the door.

“Stop telling them I have cooties, Cas, it’s not funny anymore!” she threw over her shoulder and when the door to her room slammed shut a little louder than normal Derek turned towards his werewolf son with a frown, shaking his head when Cas glared back petulantly.

“Jonathan Castiel Hale, I know you don’t like your sister’s boyfriend, but you could at least try to be nice to him,” he said firmly and Cas grunted, flashing his eyes beta gold for just a fraction of a second.

“But he smells weird Papa! And Leo-Pie smells weird every time she comes back from hanging out with him! It smells _wrong_! I don’t like it!”

“Is he still wearing that magical cologne?” Stiles mouthed at Derek, looking alarmed as he clearly remembered that it was meant for arousal-hiding purposes, but Derek shook his head, mouthing, “Considering what I smelled last time he was over here I’d say no,” in response.

Stiles grimaced at the implication but didn’t say anything, aware of the four sets of tiny ears in the room, and Derek sighed internally when Noah ducked his head with an embarrassed and altogether understanding expression, resigning himself to sitting down for another edition of ‘the talk’ sooner rather than later.

“Still – no more talk about cooties, Cas,” Derek said firmly, focusing on his younger son once more, and Cas nodded reluctantly, grumbling to himself as he climbed on the counter Leonie had just vacated, also trying to peak into the bowl.

“What’s that, Papa?” he asked, frowning as Derek got out the cake mold.

“It’s a gender-reveal cake for Uncle Jackson and Uncle Aiden’s baby. I’m putting some food coloring on the inside of the cake and when they cut it open the color is going to tell them if they’re going to have a little boy or a little girl,” he explained and Cas cocked his head, looking confused.

“Why do they need a cake for that? Can’t Uncle Aiden just take a look at the baby pictures?”

“He could, but it’s more fun this way, don’t you think? Also, there’s cake!” Stiles said, laughing when Cas’ skeptical expression suggested that he didn’t quite agree with the fun part but could be interested in a slice of cake nevertheless.

Derek shook his head fondly, biting his lip in concentration when looked into the bowl once more.

There was no mistaking the color for what it was, but he wasn’t quite happy with the brightness, yet, and he made a grab for the tube of food coloring to add some more, frowning when his fingers encountered empty air.

“Stiles, did you see the …”

“Oh boy!” Noah suddenly exclaimed, bursting into laughter, and both Derek and Stiles whirled around, both of them letting out gasps simultaneously when they realized where the tube had disappeared to.

“Tastes yucky, Daddy!” Kara exclaimed, her mouth and face tinged in a dark hue, and next to her Maggie was grinning, dropping the empty tube carelessly as she twirled around to demonstrate her work, formerly blonde locks not quite as … blonde anymore.

“Look, Papa, I dyed my hair! Like Auntie Erica did for Halloween!”

“ _Oh boy_ , indeed!” Stiles groaned, dragging his hands through his hair as he inspected the damage and Derek closed his eyes in defeat, sighing when Cas exclaimed, “Ha! I knew it!”

“Alright Puppies – bath time! And you two better hope we get this coloring out of your hair and face before the party tonight, because that’s just going to ruin the surprise!” Stiles declared, hoisting one protesting twin up on each hip and marching out of the kitchen, throwing a, “Your children, I swear!” over his shoulder.

Derek took in the mess on the floor with a dramatic sigh, looking back and forth between the colored batter and the dyed tiles, and Noah patted his arm comfortingly, almost tall enough that his head could reach Derek’s shoulder as he joined him at the kitchen counter.

“Need help, Papa?” he asked, nodding towards the cake pan, and Derek chuckled, ruffling his hair gratefully.

“Thank you Noah-Boa. Think you can finish the cake while I get the cleaning supplies?”

Before Noah could respond there was a thud from upstairs, followed by more giggling, and when Stiles yelled, “Deeeeerek!” Noah grinned, motioning towards Cas.

“Sounds like Daddy needs you to help with cleaning, too. Cas and me can finish the cake by ourselves, don’t worry. I know how to turn on the oven and everything,” he decided and when Stiles called out for him again Derek nodded, leaving his sons to it as he jogged up the stairs to rescue his mate from the splash zone.

“ _My_ children?” he asked pointedly when he entered the bathroom to the sight of his thoroughly soaked mate kneeling on the bathroom rug and Stiles huffed playfully, looking equally resigned and entertained as he continued to lather Maggie’s hair with shampoo, her big, hazel eyes wide when she let out a squeal of indignation.

“Daddy! No shampoo in my eyes!” Maggie protested, splashing her little fists into the water and causing Kara to squeal with laughter, her whole body shaking in a way she had definitely inherited from Stiles.

Derek barely managed to grab her before her head disappeared under the water – a quite athletic feat given that Stiles had only filled the tub up to their waists – and took a resigned look at the persistent food coloring stains on her lips.

“Your children, most definitely, I had nothing to do with this, I would have never … oh seriously, child, will you hold still, a little bit of shampoo is not going to hurt you!” Stiles exclaimed, scrubbing at Maggie’s formerly blonde hair with renewed vigor and Derek snorted quietly, noting with relief that at least a little bit of the coloring was coming out, given the color of the bathwater.

With only six weeks shy of their fourth birthday the twins were a force to be reckoned with, not quite as destructive to the Stilinski family heirlooms as Cas had been at this age but a handful nevertheless, full of energy and demanding in their own special way.

Due to the traumatic circumstances of their birth no one was quite sure just how much older Maggie was than Kara, but their only human daughter was definitely the older sister in every way, protective of Kara even though her werewolf twin was physically stronger than her and usually calling the shots when they played together, her hazel eyes shining with a type of determination that reminded Derek of his mother.

Out of all their children Maggie was the odd one out, the only one who had inherited her human grandfather’s blonde hair and her features resembling Derek’s mother more than anyone else.

Derek had inherited his mother’s eyes but his facial features, similar to Cora’s, had come from his father’s side of the family, unlike Laura, who had taken after their mother, and seeing those features on Maggie’s face made him both sad and grateful, no doubt in his mind that his human daughter would grow up to be a natural leader someday.

In comparison, Kara was a Beta werewolf through and through, happy to follow her sister into whichever mischief imaginable and happily giggling through it all, her disposition so sunny that Derek almost felt envious sometimes, yet fiercely glad that they were able to provide her with a life that made such a disposition possible.

To everyone’s delight Kara continued to look like a female version of Stiles, from her warm brown hair to her auburn eyes, cute upturned nose, and a soft splattering of moles over her cheeks, and Derek had seen the Sheriff get misty eyed more than once when she flailed around with laughter, though he wasn’t quite sure if it was just for sentimental reasons.

They had almost lost her four years ago and even though she had made a near miraculous recovery – aided by the power of Derek sacrificing his Alpha status – she remained much smaller than her human sister, almost half a head shorter than Maggie and with thin but deceptively strong limbs that she continued to fling around everyone in reach, a snuggle addict ever since she’d been born.

Derek didn’t allow himself to dwell on these moments too much, having more or less successfully banned them to the place of his nightmares, but sometimes, usually when his daughter climbed up on his lap and fell asleep on him with her tiny fist grabbing his shirt right above his heart, he found himself squeezing his eyes shut regardless, all too painfully aware of how lucky they had been, how grateful he was every day that all of his children were, happy, healthy, and alive.

Maybe it was this awareness, or maybe it was just the fact that he and Stiles were more than seasoned at the whole parenting thing at this point and no longer fretted the small stuff quite as much, but when Kara squealed again and successfully splashed water all over Derek he couldn’t even find it in him to be annoyed, sharing an amused look with Stiles instead and biting back his grin when his mate looked to be on the verge of bursting into laughter as well.

“She’s going to have to wear a cap so she won’t give it away, won’t she?” Derek asked, nodding towards Maggie, and Stiles rolled his eyes fondly, letting go of her hair and looking resigned.

“Yep. At least she’s cute, so Jackson won’t be upset. Much.”

“Pretty sure _Jackson’_ s emotions aren’t quite as dangerous in this scenario as the hormonal, 36 weeks pregnant Alpha one’s,” Derek said easily, chuckling when Stiles let out a groan.

“Told you … they jinxed themselves by asking us to take care of this. If you ask me, that’s definitely on them!”

 

====================

 

“It’s a … cake,” Jackson said drily, eyebrows rising as he took in the crooked form, hastily applied icing, and more or less festive decorations, but before Derek could warn him Cas was already beaming, cheeks blazing with pride as he tugged Noah over.

“Do you like it Uncle Jackson? Noah and I made it ourselves! We even got to use the oven and everything!”

“Really? That’s awesome, Cas, I love it and Uncle Aiden will love it, too!” Jackson replied promptly, switching gears with the effortlessness of a father who’d been weathering the rapid mood swings of a pubescent teenage girl for the better part of a year, and Derek nodded appreciatively, aware that his sons’ cake, while heartfelt, was definitely lacking in the aesthetics department that Aiden and Jackson had been envisioning.

“Where’s my cake? I could eat the whole thing right now!”

Aiden grinned, striding over and ruffling both boys’ hair in thanks, and Derek hastily quelled down a completely irrational burst of jealousy, staring at the graceful curve of Aiden’s middle.

At 36 weeks pregnant with Leonie he’d been feeling like a beached whale, struggling with heartburn, back aches, joint pain, the discomfort that had come with the temporary changes to his body, and being more or less confined to the house, simply looking too obviously pregnant to be seen in public.

Aiden, meanwhile, was still working at the hospital, hadn’t shown at all until about five weeks ago, and looked like he was just about five months along rather than nine, carrying so small he could still hide his belly under his doctor’s coat and seemingly breezing through his first pregnancy like it wasn’t even happening.

It wasn’t that he was jealous of the Alpha’s pregnancy per se, the memories of the long, torturous months of HG too deeply ingrained in his mind to ever want to be pregnant ever again, but seeing Aiden going through the whole process so easily almost made him want to cringe in belated embarrassment, wondering if he could have pulled himself together just a tiny bit more.

It was stupid, really.

Allison had had four easy pregnancies and Erica, after her initial shock over getting pregnant only three months after the birth of her firstborn had worn off, had more or less sailed through her second pregnancy while taking care of a baby, but Derek had never felt the need to truly compare his own experiences to theirs, the fact that he was a man and the whole thing a rare and extraordinary occurrence in itself too much of a separating factor.

It was different with Aiden, somehow, and Derek wasn’t proud of it, but he did feel a bit resentful that the new Alpha didn’t even seem to have heartburn, a joyous event that had pretty much been a constant during each of Derek’s third trimesters.

Definitely not proud.

He also wasn’t thinking about Aiden being almost ten years younger than him and he very definitely wasn’t thinking about his graying temples or the other, more mortifyingly located grays he had found in the bathroom this morning.

No, Derek wasn’t getting old yet. He still had two years until turning fifty, could have given Stiles babies for the next ten years – if he’d still been an Alpha and the chances of the HG returning and making his and his family’s lives almost unbearable hadn’t been at 99,9 percent, that was – and he was more than capable of keeping up with and satisfying his mate, who, at 43 years old, was more devastatingly handsome than ever, wrinkles around his eyes crinkling up when he laughed and wrecking Derek in the best way possible every single day.

Derek’s life was perfect as it was, thank you, even if, compared to the walking, talking, glowing pregnancy delight they were currently celebrating, his own road to parenthood had been significantly more challenging, terrifying, achier, and very significantly rounder.

The latter pretty much permanently after going through a twin pregnancy in his mid-forties – well, it was two jeans sizes, really, one and a half if they shopped at Old Navy’s – and Derek had grudgingly learned to accept that working out simply didn’t yield the same results anymore than it had once had, marginally aided by Stiles’ thorough dedication to demonstrating his appreciation of Derek’s new assets at every given opportunity.

Also, Kara had once enthusiastically compared her Papa’s cuddle-worthy middle to her favorite stuffed bunny, the highest form of praise coming from his snuggle baby, though Derek, his cheeks flaming red and ignoring the pack’s barely contained laughter, had failed to see it like that at the time.

He was an aging werewolf who’d birthed five children, surrounded by unnaturally hot male werewolves who, with the notable exception of Aiden, had knocked up their wives instead of going through the process themselves, he was entitled to a bit of moping.

Well, Aiden and Isaac, technically, who, despite his and Cora long-standing argument that sometimes a winky emoji was just a winky emoji, had finally moved in with Derek’s little sister six months ago, throwing himself head-first into officially becoming the father for her almost six year old twins he’d been for quite a while already.

Derek would lie if he said he had completely seen it coming, having spent more than one pack meeting observing them and wondering if Isaac, who’d spent the past two decades coming to grips with his abusive childhood, would ever truly trust himself to become a loving parent.

Cora, meanwhile, having spent so much time on her own after their family had died in the fire, had been more than hesitant over adding a father figure to her little chosen family, her doubts over Isaac’s flight risk clear in her eyes even as she’d unconsciously drawn closer to him as the years had passed.

However, Isaac had stayed after a dinner invitation a little over six months ago, helping Cora put her sleepy werewolf children to bed, and as he’d tucked in Jacob the little boy had slung his arms around Isaac’s neck, muttering, “Love you, Daddy,” before he’d drifted off to sleep and finally voicing out loud what everyone had been seeing for at least the better part of the last year.

Before a startled Isaac had even had a chance to apologize to Cora, who’d been hovering in the doorway and let out a sharp gasp at her son’s words, Derek’s little sister had already been kissing him senselessly, and things had fallen into place for them almost effortlessly after.

They were talking to a beaming Aiden now, each of them holding one twin’s hand as they admired the newest ultrasound pictures, and Derek shook his head firmly, determined to keep gloomy thoughts of gray hairs, his abdomen’s snuggle potential, and such mortifying memories like the time he’d gotten stuck inside his Camaro while heavily pregnant with Leonie at bay, opting to celebrate Jackson and Aiden’s upcoming new arrival instead.

While Aiden seemed completely unhurried to get this show on the road Jackson was already hovering over the cake, flanked by his three equally impatient looking daughters from his first marriage, and Derek had to bite back a smile when Aurelia, nine years old and Jackson’s only werewolf child, actually started sniffing the cake, her eyes flashing amber as she obviously hoped to detect a clue.

“Aiiiiiiden!” Josie exclaimed, having successfully mastered pubescent whining over the past couple of months, and beside her Emilia, who was normally calmer than even Noah on his quiet days, let out a dramatic huff, her blonde pig-tails bobbing up and down as she scrunched up her freckled face in barely controlled excitement.

“Better get on with it, Papa-Wolf,” Stiles teased from the doorway, one hand placed firmly on the cap on Maggie’s head to hide her partially colored hair and the other arm occupied with keeping Kara still so she wouldn’t tug at the silk scarf Leonie had graciously donated to hide the residue of gender-revealing color still tinting her youngest sister’s lips and cheeks.

Derek winced, used to Stiles directing that particular term of endearment towards him and not someone else, hoping he’d been subtle and sighing internally when Noah slipped his hand into his, squeezing ever so softly before he let go, following Josie’s latest declaration that 12 year olds were too old to hold their parents’ hands any longer (though, Derek had been amused to learn, 13 and a half years old Mikey McCall continued to insist that holding his momma’s hand while going shopping with her was for her protection only and absolutely not because he was a momma’s boy).

Derek smiled at his oldest son, seeing the understanding reflected in his amber eyes that looked so much older than he actually was, and suddenly wondering if Noah, who had cried bitter tears as a three year old when he’d realized that, as a human, he could never have his own babies in his belly like his papa, was still sad about the fact.

Noah turned back towards the cake, grinning when Aiden finally walked over and squeezed in between the Whittemores, smiling indulgently when Jackson’s arm immediately wrapped around him so he could rest his hand on the small curve of his belly, and Derek decided to table this discussion for another time, throwing an amused look at Stiles when the human let out an impatient sound that sounded almost exactly like the sounds regularly produced by their twin girls.

“Alright, who gets to cut the cake?” Scott asked, camera already out and rolling, and Allison shook her head, exclaiming, “Aiden, of course, he has to do all the hard work!”

“Nah, Jackson should do it, he’s the one who put the batter in the oven, so to speak,” Erica grinned devilishly, taking a bow when three sets of parents glared at her accusatorily, all of them remembering their own versions of the cake vs. baby-making discussions they’d had the day Aiden and Jackson had announced the pregnancy.

“How about we all do it together?” Jackson said quickly, hoisting Emilia up on his hip and motioning for Josie and Aurelia to hold on to Aiden’s arm, the expectant parents’ hands closing over the handle as they lifted the knife to cut into the icing.

“On three! One, two …” Scott began to direct, his voice drowned out when all three Whittemore girls suddenly started squealing, their eyes shining with excitement as Aiden dropped the slice of cake on a plate with shaking fingers, blue filling clear for everyone in the room to see.

“I … Jackson, look … a _son_!” he exclaimed, voice filled with disbelief even as his baffled expression turned into a blinding smile, and Jackson, who, unlike his pregnant mate, had been convinced their baby was a boy from the moment he’d learned of the pregnancy, nodded, clearly rendered speechless.

“Do you see that girls? You’re going to have a little brother!” he whispered, holding on to Emilia in a tight grip, and a second later both Josie and Aurelia had wrapped their arms around his waist, all three of them beaming up at their father with matching expressions of happiness.

“Finally, Daddy!”

“He’s going to be so cute, Daddy!”

“I’ll give him all my toys, Daddy!”

The rest of the pack was beaming as well, congratulatory shouts ringing across the room as Aiden wrapped his arms around all four Whittemores, kissing Jackson deeply, and Derek, who had known about the baby’s gender ever since he’d read the little note Melissa had brought over, grinned at his mate, not able to hold in the laughter when Stiles finally let go of Maggie and Kara, the blue patches in his human daughter’s blonde hair and his werewolf daughter’s blue lips and cheeks confirming the exciting news.

“As usual, the Hale-Stilinski family goes the extra mile … oh stop with the puppy dog eyes Stiles, I’ll help fix this later,” Lydia commented drily, interlinking her arms with Stiles as she stared down at the twins in mock disapproval, her twitching lips most definitely giving her away.

Derek chuckled, smiling fondly as he watched Leonie wrap her arms around her uncle Jackson, both of them beaming at each other. She’d always had a special bond with Jackson and even though he had three girls of his own Jackson had always found time for her as she’d grown up, her status as the first pack baby special even to this day.

Leonie moved away to sweep Emilia up in a bear hug and Jackson turned towards Aiden once more, gently cradling his belly with an expression of stunned, almost breathless joy that made Derek’s heart soar.

His first Beta had spent almost half of his life feeling unloved and incomplete, struggling with being adopted for half of his childhood and then going through the motions of an unhappy marriage for the sake of his children before finally doing the right but painful thing, and seeing him so happy now was soothing a hollow feeling in Derek’s chest that he hadn’t even realized had been there.

Granted, he was no longer an Alpha, was no longer technically responsible for his Betas, but in their very own special way they had been his first children and their heartache had always been his heartache, regardless of whether or not he actually had Alpha powers.

They were an interesting pack if Derek had ever seen it, consisting of two sub-packs, a True Alpha, a Banshee, and two Sparks, provided Noah had in fact inherited an aptitude for spark magic from Stiles, but Derek wouldn’t have it any other way, constantly marveling at how easy it was, considering their very rocky start all those years ago.

The impending birth of baby-boy Whittemore was just the latest in a long line of blessings, and Derek couldn’t wait to finally meet him.

By the looks on his immediate family’s faces, neither could they.

 

===================

 

“You know what would be great about Josie and Noah having a baby together one day? Between having you _and_ Jackson as grandfathers that child would have cheekbones for days and could become a rock star! At least!”

“Grandfather, Noah, _what_?”

Derek spat out his mouthful of toothpaste, staring at Stiles incredulously in the bathroom mirror and Stiles, who’d been ruefully inspecting the baby-werewolf sized blue fingerprints in the bathtub, grinned up at Derek, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

“Also, Noah is _definitely_ going to grow up to be Stiles 2.0 in the looks department, and I’m pretty sure that if you’d told Jackson his precious baby-girl would run off with a Stiles clone back in high school he would have shat bricks,” Stiles continued, ignoring Derek’s raised eyebrows and going back to scrubbing at the bathtub stains.

“I repeat … _what_?”

“Oh come on Papa Wolf, didn’t you see them giggle together for almost the entire night? I know pining when I see it and Josie Whittemore is _definitely_ planning to become Mrs. Noah Hale at some point in the future!”

Derek shook his head.

“The only pining I saw was a heartbroken Mikey McCall staring at an oblivious Noah and then drowning himself in cake with our twins as enthusiastic helpers. Besides, Josie Whittemore re-finalizes her wedding plans almost weekly, different grooms included. I’m sorry Stiles, I don’t think you’ll ever be getting that chiseled cheekbones rockstar grandbaby,” he said, grinning when Stiles clucked his tongue.

“Well, if I could choose I’d rather have a McCall-Hale grandbaby, of course, bro-code and all that, but poor Mikey friend-zoned himself all the way back in the sandbox when he gave Noah his shovel and Noah thanked him by dumping a bucket of sand on his head with delighted laughter,” he said, getting up with a little grunt and following Derek back into the bedroom.

“I’m reasonably sure Noah isn’t even the slightest bit interested in getting married at this point, so maybe we shouldn’t jinx ourselves by talking about grandbabies quite yet,” Derek suggested as he got under the covers, and Stiles winced, climbing in next to him as well, one arm lazily spread over Derek’s waist.

“Don’t even remind me! Leo-Pie’s boyfriend has been giving her all kinds of looks lately and I know I have no room to talk, given how enthusiastically I would have jumped you if you’d let me at that age, but she’s my _baby-girl_ , and it’s just … I live happier not thinking about it.”

“She pinky-promised Lydia she’d come talk to us about birth control, so as long as she doesn’t mention it I have decided to ignore even the possibility,” Derek said resolutely and Stiles grimaced, letting out a sound of lament before he burrowed his face against Derek’s chest.

“There should be a law against babies growing up this quickly! Seriously, I just changed her first diaper yesterday, it seems like, where did the time even go?”

“I guess time goes by significantly quicker when you’re busy,” Derek said, groaning internally right after when Stiles smirked up at him, fingers dipping under the waistband of his boxers.

“Oh, we’ve definitely been _busy_ , no doubt about that!” he said, kissing Derek’s shoulder when the werewolf rolled his eyes.

“Speaking of getting busy and its delightful consequences,” Stiles continued, fingers trailing soft circles over Derek’s lower belly, “I noticed you glowering at Aiden today. And your eyes are always kind of green, you know, but today they seemed even greener than usual, so I was wondering if you wanted to talk about it?”

Derek sighed, grasping Stiles’ fingers and interlacing them with his own, his expression a bit sheepish when Stiles looked up at him.

“I don’t … I don’t want to be pregnant again, even if I still could,” he said after a moment’s thought, not surprised when Stiles let out a relieved sigh.

“Good! Because five children are definitely the threshold of what my sanity can take. Also, I don’t think I could deal with seeing you so sick again for months, so there’s that,” he said, gently nudging against the werewolf to continue.

“It’s just … it’s stupid, really, but Aiden just … he makes it look so easy! And not just because he’s apparently got a magical Tardis-uterus either that’s bigger on the inside, he … oh don’t give me that look, I listen when you talk, I’m a great mate! The point is, he’s pretty much sailed through this whole pregnancy as if it was nothing, devoting just as much time to his Alpha duties as he did before _and_ working a fulltime job on the side and it’s just … I think back to how I handled being pregnant and I wonder if I …”

“Oh Derek,” Stiles sighed, more or less climbing on top of him and bracketing him in, hands splayed on either side of the werewolf’s head as he bent down to kiss him.

“Aiden is an OBGYN who’s overseen two male pregnancies before, including one with a bunch of complications, so of course he’s more at ease, given how much experience he has! He also hasn’t been kidnapped or seriously injured and I really can’t stress enough how big of a difference that makes, so really, we shouldn’t even be comparing your experiences at all! That being said, he’s also got a wider waist than you, so the kid has had much more room to grow sideways before it could grow outward … not that we should even be discussing a pregnant person’s body at all, or at least that’s what I learned on the internet. As for the whole working Alpha thing, if memory serves me you worked as well, all the way to your due dates every single time, and just because you didn’t have to leave the house to do it doesn’t mean you weren’t being productive … you know, on top of growing my babies, which is pretty damn productive in itself I say! Also, Aiden’s pack pretty much consists of three werewolves and he’s related to all of them, either by blood or mating, so of course it’s easier for him to keep them in line! You had to Alpha-wrangle Boyd, Erica, Isaac, Cora, _and_ Jackson, not to mention Beacon Hill’s resident True-I-Still-Don’t-Know-What-That-Really-Means-Alpha on occasion, plus all the adorable baby werewolves running around the village. As far as I’m concerned they still love you, so I think you did just fine! I mean … Scott loves _me_ , so he’s learned to love you by association, Boyd’s hard to read, really, Erica might love the idea of tormenting you with lewd innuendos more than you, possibly, Isaac’s currently trying to suck up to you because he’s banging your baby-sister, so he kinda _has_ to love you right now and Jackson … well, Jackson loves our kids and tolerates us as their chaperones, so that’s something, at least, but …”

“Keep talking, you’re making me feel so special right now,” Derek grumbled, trying to hold in his smile, and Stiles chuckled, leaning down to kiss him once more, softly and soundly.

“Exactly! Special! You are pretty damn special to me, Derek. To me, our kids, and the pack, and I wish you’d stop doubting yourself all the time. We have five awesome, happy, and healthy kids, in the end that’s all that’s important, so who cares if Aiden hasn’t gotten stuck in a Camaro quite yet!”

He grinned when Derek growled, kissing him again and yelping when Derek nipped at his lip for emphasis.

“Sassy Wolf, you know full well I remember that time fondly! Anyway, it hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows for them either, they’ve just had to deal with different things than we did,” Stiles said and Derek frowned at him, confused.

“Huh? Like what?” he asked and Stiles raised his eyebrow, shrugging as he climbed off of Derek and once more cuddled against his side.

“Well, for one thing Julia’s been a real bitch about the custody agreement lately, demanding more time than she’s supposed to get, now that Jackson is supposedly starting fresh, and she’s been making snide comments about how Jackson should have learned his lesson the first time he tried to start a family, so there’s been lots of tension regarding that whole situation. Also, she’s kind of put the idea in Josie’s head that Jackson might possibly love the new baby more than them, because he’s so in love with its father, and whatever Josie believes Emilia believes, so there’s been all kinds of drama there. The only child who’s not currently constantly questioning her place in that family is Aurelia, but she’s a werewolf and fundamentally understands that Aiden is all of their Alpha and will love them the same even if there’s a little one added to the mix. Anyway, Aiden and Jackson have been so focused on the girls that they’ve had barely any time to enjoy the pregnancy as a couple, which I’m pretty sure they’re both a little sad about. Didn’t you notice how Jackson immediately emphasized that the girls were getting a baby-brother when they found out it was a boy today? He’s barely even let himself celebrate the fact that he’s having a son with the man he loves because he’s so worried the girls might think he could end up favoring him and that’s kind of sad if you ask me.”

Derek winced.

“I … I had no idea it was that bad.”

Stiles sighed.

“Well, it’s not _bad_ bad, it just hasn’t been all that easy, either. Jackson and Aiden are trying their best and to be honest, I think finally getting the brother that Josie’s envied Leonie for ever since Noah was born is definitely going to help her come to terms with the changed family dynamic. Once she comes around Emilia will come around and Julia ... might figure out how to be an adult eventually. Maybe. I’m not keeping my hopes up.”

Derek frowned at him, cocking his head in interest.

“How do you even know all of that?”

“Well …” Stiles smiled, a little sheepishly.

“Jackson’s been in need of someone to talk to and given that I’m pretty much the only person in the pack who has experience with dealing with a pregnant Alpha mate it seemed logical that he’d come to me? We’ve been having coffee during our lunch breaks quite a bit these past couple of months, comparing notes and commiserating about hormones and all that good stuff. Who would have thought, right?”

He grinned, gently poking into Derek’s side.

“By the way, Aiden might not be exhibiting any outward signs of physical discomfort, but the mood swings situation has apparently been so delightful that … how did Jackson put it … ‘he’d rather deal with three teenaged PMS-ing daughters than Aiden some days’, so there you go, pregnancy isn’t all that easy breezy for them either, even _if_ they can make it look good on the outside!”

“I wasn’t _that_ hormonal when I was pregnant,” Derek huffed and Stiles smiled fondly, fingers once more trailing over Derek’s abdomen, nails scratching down his happy trail with unmistakable intent.

“A little bit. Just a little. Luckily for me, your hormones were more interested in jumping my bones rather than getting into my face, so I really can’t complain. On a side note, my weary bones are definitely available for jumping, tonight, so how about we …” Stiles began, laughing when Derek flipped them over with a soft growl, the laughter turning into a moan when the werewolf ground against him, teeth lightly pulling on Stiles’ lower lip.

Grinning, Derek sat upright, straddling him as he pulled off his sleeping shirt and Stiles surged up, teeth clamping around one nipple as his hands made a grab for Derek’s butt, pushing their lower bodies closer together.

Derek threw his head back, letting out a soft gasp when Stiles’ fingers carefully pressed down, and Stiles smirked against his chest, one hand coming up to grasp his hip as he lightly bit into the skin over Derek’s clavicle.

Derek’s fingers trailed down his mate’s back, just a hint of claws, and when Stiles let go of his neck he pushed him down into the bed, bending over and kissing a line down Stiles’ stomach, aiming for the erection tenting his mate’s boxers and mouthing at the fabric, smirking when Stiles groaned softly.

He was just about to pull down Stiles’ underwear when their bedroom door creaked open, followed by the shuffling sound of two pairs of bare feet and a whiny “Daddy! Papa!”, and Derek’s head thumped onto Stiles’ belly in defeat, giving himself one second to gather himself before he sat upright again, making a grab for the sheets to place over both of their laps before he turned around.

“It’s almost midnight Puppies, why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked, taking a surreptitious sniff and fighting back a groan, all amorous thought regarding his mate gone and evaporated at the sickly smell coming from his human daughter.

“What’s wrong Maggie-Baby?” Stiles asked from below him, nudging against Derek to move so he could wiggle into his sleeping pants under the covers, and as Derek quickly pulled on his own sleeping shorts Maggie let out a sniffle, her face pale and miserable as she shuffled over to the edge of the bed.

“Tummy hurts, Daddy,” she answered her human father, teary-eyed, and next to her Kara nodded gravely, her little nose twitching as if she was trying to sniff out her sister’s ailment.

“That’s because you had three pieces of Uncle Aiden’s cake before Daddy caught you,” Derek said, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and picking her up, putting one hand on her forehead to check her temperature and the other on her little tummy, which was in fact radiating the unsettling heat that always came with actual internal pain, mostly unnoticeable to humans but clear to his werewolf senses.

“Five pieces,” Maggie said miserably, hands clutching her tummy right above Derek’s and Derek sighed heavily, sharing a resigned look with his mate when Stiles groaned as well.

“Mikey said we were three years old so we could eat three pieces, but I could only finish one piece and one bite of the second piece before I wasn’t hungry anymore. But then I had two pieces left and Uncle Scott always says that it’s not ok to put food on your plate if you don’t want to eat it, so Maggie helped me!” Kara explained, seemingly eager to get her sister out of trouble, and Derek shook his head, feeling almost amused Maggie let out a whimper that was a bit too pained for his parental comfort.

His mother had never used her pain-leeching powers on him or his sisters on the few occasions that they had complained of stomachaches after too many sweets, arguing that they’d never learn to pace themselves if the pain could just magically go away, and it wasn’t that Derek considered himself a push-over parent or anything he just … happened to be kind of a push-over when it came to his two youngest.

Or Cas.

Or Noah.

Not to mention Leonie.

Derek sighed, rubbing Maggie’s tummy in soothing circles and drawing out just enough to help her go to sleep, figuring that his mother had never had a human child and never had to deal with watching them experience pain differently than a werewolf.

Maggie sniffled, her cheek mushed against Derek’s shoulder, and he laid down with her on his chest, resigning himself to a restless night and no more sexy-times until his adorable but ever-so-efficiently-cock-blocking twin girls had gone off to college.

Next to him Stiles seemed to have reached the same conclusion, his “Don’t you want to go back to sleep in your own room Kara-Mia?” sounding rather rhetorical as Kara climbed onto the bed as well, letting out an oof-sound when their younger werewolf daughter ungracefully wedged herself in between her parents, never one to pass up on a golden opportunity to snuggle.

“Need to make sure my sissy is ok. She needs lots of snuggles to get better, Daddy!” she explained matter of factly, looking only marginally concerned and a lot content as she patted his cheek and Stiles sighed, muttering, “I’m sure glad we don’t subscribe to the pushover parenting method,” and wincing when Kara accidentally kneed his kidneys in her attempt to get even closer.

“Alright Kara-Mia, but no more Daddy-maiming and no more wiggling, ok? Your sister needs to sleep so she’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“Okay Daddy,” Kara agreed, already nodding off, and Stiles waited until Maggie’s soft whimpers had died down as well before he grabbed the trashcan they normally used for tissues from beside the bed with one arm, holding it out to Derek with the expression of a seasoned parent who’d seen things he could never unsee.

“Better safe than sorry?” he asked and Derek sighed, keeping Maggie in place with one arm and grabbing the trashcan with the other.

“Five pieces of cake. _Five_ … I don’t even need my werewolf senses to tell me that in about thirty minutes or so we’ll both be sorry. At the latest. Based on what I’m smelling we barely have ten minutes left.”

He shook his head, stroking Maggie’s still blue tinted air when their daughter let out another miserable little whimper in her sleep.

“Parenting sure is a glamorous thing, isn’t it?” Stiles mused, scooting across the bed and gently lifting Kara on his chest and away from the potential splash zone, determined to not have to clean up _two_ miserable and cranky children before the night was over.

Derek rolled his eyes but he smiled, his eyes crinkling and face going soft under the barely there light of the moon.

“It definitely is.”

He paused, tensing when Maggie’s whimpering became louder and relaxing again when she quieted once more, the calm before the storm that Derek and his werewolf nose could definitely see approaching.

“Glamorous indeed … I just _really_ wish I wouldn’t have taken off my damn shirt!”

 

=================

**August 2039**

“Papa? What does ‘overdue’ mean?”

Derek looked up from where he’d been repairing a cracked stair on the tree house, squinting against the late afternoon sun as Cas’ face came into view, peering down at him from the edge of the platform.

“How did you even get up there without the stairs?” Derek asked and Cas flicked his claws, offering, “I climbed!” with so much pride that Derek didn’t find it in his heart to admonish him for being a carless little reckless wolf.

“Where did you hear that word?” he asked instead and Cas swung his legs over the edge, dangling his feet as he watched Derek work.

“Aurelia said that Uncle Aiden is a week overdue and that’s why he’s really, really grumpy. She said her daddy suggested ‘alternative methods’ the other day and Uncle Aiden told him to bite him. Only Uncle Jackson is not the Alpha, so that didn’t make sense, because only Alphas bite other people, but only if they really want it. She said Uncle Jackson wasn’t very happy, even though biting is a gift, and then they didn’t speak to each other for almost an hour!”

He frowned, looking at his father with curiosity when Derek barely stifled a snort.

“What are alternative methods, Papa? And what does overdue mean?”

“When you’re pregnant, being overdue means that the baby was supposed to come out already, only it’s being a little stubborn and doesn’t want to be born yet. That’s not much fun for pregnant mamas or papas, because they are really looking forward to meet their baby and they get a little impatient,” Derek explained, choosing to ignore the part about ‘alternative methods’ and hoping that his little scatterbrained werewolf son wouldn’t notice.

Cas cocked his head, considering.

“I think I get that. When you’re still inside your papa’s or momma’s belly it’s warm and cozy, everyone’s happy to see you, you get lots of kisses and snuggles from the outside, you don’t get in trouble even if you kick around like a little monkey … and you don’t have to do any chores!” he decided, nodding in determination before he continued.

“So you have to use alternative methods to get it to come out? Do they tell him he has to go into time-out if he doesn’t listen to what Papa and Daddy say?”

Derek chuckled, looking up into his little mini-me’s face and deciding to blame Stiles’ genes for his younger son’s suddenly developed focus on this particular topic.

“Something like that Cas, yeah. There are a couple of things you can try to coax a baby to come out. For example, your Aunt Lydia brought me spicy food when your big sister decided to be fashionably late and was still inside my belly two days after she was supposed to be born, because I thought that eating something spicy would get your sister to just come out already.”

“Leonie is _always_ late, especially when she’s on a date with that stupid boy or putting on make-up in the bathroom,” Cas shrugged, seemingly unsurprised at this revelation, and Derek shook his head fondly, remembering an exasperated Noah pounding on the bathroom door earlier that morning, hopping up and down from leg to leg and sounding like he deeply regretted he wasn’t an only child.

“Was I late, too?” Cas asked, curious, and this time Derek couldn’t help but snort loudly, realizing in wonder that, unlike Leonie and Noah, Cas had never once asked for the story of his birth.

“You were so excited to come meet us that you actually came two weeks early, right on our living room arm chair while I was reading stories to Leonie. Your daddy was out buying ice cream and he dropped an entire bucket on the floor when he came back and found you waiting for him. You can still see the stain on the wood,” Derek told him and Cas gasped, looking positively delighted at the idea.

“Really Papa? Was he excited?”

“Really excited! See, your daddy thought you would be a little girl, so he was really excited and really, really surprised. We were all really excited to meet you. Your big sister helped me and she was the first person to ever hold you,” Derek said fondly and Cas beamed widely, looking at his father almost in awe.

“Did it hurt a whole lot? Aurelia says Uncle Aiden and Uncle Jackson watched a documentary about babies two weeks ago and all the women were screaming and crying a lot,” he asked and Derek shrugged, trying not to scare his son as he thought about his answer.

“Giving birth to a baby does hurt a lot while you are doing it, yes, but as soon as you hold your baby you don’t even think about the pain anymore. I wouldn’t have had five of you otherwise,” he said and Cas nodded, looking a bit worried.

“Do I have to have a baby, Papa? I heard Daddy say the other day that he thought I might grow up to be an Alpha some day and since you were an Alpha when you had all of us in your belly and Uncle Aiden is an Alpha, does that mean that I have to do that as well?”

Derek shook his head, smiling when Cas looked relieved.

“It’s not really scary, Cas, but no, you don’t have to have a baby in your belly if you don’t want to, even if you do turn out to be an Alpha one day.”

“Ok. If you have a baby in your belly you have to throw up all the time and you can’t run around anymore, _and_ you can’t wear your favorite Batman t-shirt because it doesn’t fit!” Cas decided, and Derek chuckled ruefully, wondering just how much Cas remembered of the draining months he’d spent suffering from HG during his pregnancy with the twins and feeling somewhat relieved that it didn’t seem to have left a lasting impact, considering his son apparently considered a potential Batman-related wardrobe crisis a bigger problem than throwing up twenty to thirty times a day.

“Hey Papa?” Cas asked, his dangling feet coming to a sudden stop, “couldn’t I trade with Noah so _he_ could have a baby in his belly? I don’t want to do that and Noah does, so maybe we could switch? You and Daddy changed bodies once when you got that witch mad and Noah’s a little bit magic, too, so maybe we can switch, too? I don’t mind!” he said, sounding excited, and Derek quickly looked down so Cas wouldn’t see his grimace, feeling a pang in his chest as he remembered how upset Noah had been when he’d first realized that human males couldn’t get pregnant.

He’d been inconsolable, then, but he hadn’t said another word about it since and Derek had almost forgotten about it, the realization that Noah was still so upset about it almost ten years later that even his barely nine years old brother had caught on to it feeling like a solid punch to his gut.

For years Noah had struggled with being the only human child in the Hale family, but ever since he’d gotten his human little sister he’d become significantly more relaxed about it, eagerly volunteering to build sandcastles with Maggie whenever Leonie – and lately Cas – took Kara out for a little werewolf rough-housing.

Still, his oldest son was probably the most sensitive out of all of his children and it made Derek’s heart ache that Noah continued to desire things that simply weren’t possible, worrying – and not for the first time – if his gentle, loving son was setting himself up for lots of heartbreak in his future.

“Papa?”

Cas was peering down at him in concern, clearly having sensed his mood swing, and Derek debated with himself for a second, wondering if he was crossing a line but worry for his oldest son winning out.

“Did your brother tell you that he wants to have a baby in his belly?”

Cas shook his head, looking a bit guilty now.

“No. I mean … he hasn’t said anything but sometimes he plays pretend and I accidentally saw? Leonie said I can’t tease him about it though, because Noah would be sad because I _can_ have a baby in my belly and he can’t,” he explained, not elaborating further and Derek decided not to press, having heard enough to know that he and Stiles would definitely have to sit Noah down for a little heart-to-heart.

Cas looked a bit worried, now, as if he was wondering if he’d said something he wasn’t supposed to say and Derek smiled at him encouragingly, opening up his arms and motioning for him to jump down.

His younger son grinned, jumping down from the platform with a delighted squeal, and Derek caught him effortlessly, swinging him around and kissing his cheeks, grateful that, even though he was no longer the chubby-cheeked toddler who’d wrecked havoc on the house, he was still small enough to not only tolerate but actually demand snuggles.

“You’re an awesome brother for wanting to give Noah something he really, really wants, but it’s not that easy. Noah is a human and you are a werewolf. Unless your brother takes the bite one day it’s not going to be possible.”

“If I become an Alpha I can give him the bite. But only if that’s what he really, _really_ wants,” Cas declared solemnly and Derek kissed his cheek once more, smiling down at him affectionately.

“I love you son,” he said simply and Cas grinned, his “Love you too, Papa,” sounding much more carefree than Derek was feeling, his amber eyes flashing when he wrapped his arms around Derek’s neck.

It was getting closer to the full moon and Derek could feel the energy buzzing through his werewolf son, the thrumming of power that, Derek knew in his heart, would be just one of the reasons that would make him a great Alpha one day and he flashed his eyes back at him, canines lengthened ever so slightly.

“What do you say we go for a little run before dinner? Just you and me?” he asked, setting Cas down on the grass, and his son let out a little yip that was almost but not quite a howl, his remaining baby teeth a stark contrast to the sharp little edges of his recently acquired permanent canines.

When Derek flashed his eyes once more Cas took off, still yipping gleefully as he bounded into the forest and Derek decided to give him a little head start, allowing his Beta shift to fully take effect before he took after him, the pull of the moon pumping through his veins and almost but not quite distracting him from worrying about his oldest son’s emotional well-being.

Cas would grow up to be a wonderful werewolf – he just hoped Noah would eventually learn to love his humanity the same way.

 

===================

 

Joshua Henry Whittemore was born at 7:44 PM on August 18th, weighing nine pounds, three ounces, and measuring 21 inches, with a soft shock of blonde hair, tiny freckles all around his nose, big, baby-blue eyes, and a demanding set of lungs that – Stiles didn’t tire to point out to anyone willing to listen – he’d definitely inherited from his father, ducking away from Lydia’s good natured swatting and making grabby hands at the newborn werewolf, who was already the spitting image of Jackson.

“ _Definitely_ don’t want to get pregnant again,” Derek mouthed at Stiles when he accepted the baby from him, quickly glancing to a completely exhausted Aiden who, after the almost 36 hour ordeal that had been the birth of his incredibly stubborn little boy, was lounging on a set of pillows with a sleep-dopey smile, barely awake and with bags under his eyes that looked like they were pregnant with their own baby-bags, flanked by his twin brother, who’d overseen the birth, and Jackson, who looked equally exhausted but proud nevertheless.

“He’s so tiny! I don’t think I was ever that tiny! Leonie says I’m a big girl now, because I’m almost four years old, so I was a big baby, right?”

Kara tugged at Derek’s sleeve, looking incredibly fascinated, and Derek knelt down so she could see the baby, shaking his head at her in fond amusement.

“You and your sister were actually even tinier than Josh when you were born. A good thing, too, I don’t think I could have fit two babies of this size in my belly. I think I would have exploded and that wouldn’t have been fun for anybody,” he teased her, chuckling when Kara wrinkled her nose.

“He looks like Uncle Jackson, doesn’t he Papa?” Leonie asked, looking over his shoulder and gently tracing a finger along the baby’s cheeks and Derek nodded, looking up when Josie and Emilia marched over, both looking very tired as well but glowing with excitement.

“He’s the cutest baby brother ever!” Josie said, beaming, and Derek gently placed the baby in her arms, the feeling of Jackson’s and Aiden’s relief almost physical in the air when Josie kissed the baby’s cheek and Emilia followed suit, the two of them looking like they’d never worried about anyone loving their baby-brother more than them for even a second.

Over on the bed Aurelia was snuggling against Aiden, her eyes shining amber as her wolf adjusted to the change in her pack, and even though Aiden looked ready to pass out he managed to flash his red eyes back at her, leaving no doubt in Derek’s mind that they would be ok.

Stiles was still animatedly discussing the baby’s rather distinct Whittemore features with Lydia, occasionally joined by Erica and Leonie, and Cas and the twins were hovering around Josie and the baby, his two werewolf children acquainting themselves with the newest wolf in their pack and their noses twitching vigorously while Maggie simply seemed content to watch, letting out a delighted giggle every time the baby’s chubby legs kicked out of the blanket.

That left only Noah not present and accounted for and Derek let his gaze wander across the room, not surprised to find his older son hovering near Aiden’s bed, his eyes round with curiosity as he fired off question after question to Ethan, who, ever since he’d treated Noah’s broken arm a couple of years ago, had had a soft spot for the human Hale boy and was clearly willing to humor him, despite the occasional yawn splitting his lips.

Derek walked over to join them, first grasping Aiden’s shoulder in quiet acknowledgement then clapping Jackson’s shoulder, his first Beta’s happiness thrumming in the air and feeling as alive as the mewling little baby on the other side of the room.

“Do you think it hurt him a lot?” Noah was asking and this time Aiden blearily cracked open one eye, croaking, “It hurt him enough to make him think about a better bedside manner the next time a patient just won’t stop screaming even though the baby isn’t even crowning yet.”

Ethan snorted, mouthing, “Serves you right,” and grinning when Aiden let out an altogether unconvincing growl.

“Noah-Boa, do you want to hold the baby?” Jackson asked, motioning for Josie to come over and Noah nodded, eyes shining as he cradled the little boy against his chest.

“You’re going to be a natural daddy one day,” Ethan said fondly, ruffling his hair, and Derek didn’t miss his son mouth, “Or a Papa”, his eyes wistful as he rocked the infant carefully.

When Derek looked at Stiles his mate’s mouth was set in a thin line and Derek, who’d told Stiles about his conversation with Cas that evening after dinner, knew that Stiles hadn’t missed Noah’s words either, the two of them sharing a concerned look.

“Do you think we need to talk to him about this?” Stiles asked quietly as they lay in bed that night and Derek sighed, turning on his side and trailing his fingers over Stiles’ upper arm absentmindedly.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know what we could tell him. The only way it’s possible for him is if he asks for the bite and them somehow becomes an Alpha and with Cas _and_ Mikey around I just … I don’t see that happening. Unless he somehow finds a way to manifest his spark long enough to do it, but Deaton’s witch friend said that without years of extensive training he’ll only ever be able to produce random, erratic bursts of magic and that doesn’t seem like enough to grow a temporary uterus in a male human body.”

“Not to mention it would probably kill him,” Stiles said grimly, one hand trailing down the dip of Derek’s waist.

“That last pregnancy almost killed _you_ , and you were an Alpha werewolf. I don’t even want to imagine what kind of strain a magical pregnancy would be on Noah’s body. I just … maybe he’ll grow out of it? He’s the most responsible child I’ve ever seen in my life, but he _is_ my kid and I don’t want to put ideas in his head that aren’t there right now. Let’s watch him for a while, ok? Maybe he’ll meet a nice girl in high school and the whole thing will sort itself out soon enough.”

“Or maybe Mikey McCall will finally make a move. Not that Noah would ever pick up on it, given how obvious the kid’s been for years now,” Derek mused, grinning ruefully when Stiles chuckled.

“Now _that’s_ an idea I wouldn’t mind planting inside his head. Do you think …”

Derek raised his eyebrows meaningfully and Stiles sighed, nodding.

“Alright, alright, no matchmaking the pack-kids. Scott made us all swear an oath and everything, I’m going to stick to it. Even if it feels really counterproductive on the grandbaby front.”

Derek rolled his eyes.

“Do we need to borrow Josh to babysit so you can satisfy those sudden grandbaby-urges?” he asked and Stiles shook his head, grinning.

“Nah … I’m way too fond of the concept of uninterrupted sleep these days. Speaking of uninterrupted, how would you feel about …”

“Daddy? Papa? I don’t know _who_ made the wet spot on my bed, but it’s really gross and I’m sleeping with you tonight.”

Derek didn’t laugh when Stiles dramatically reached for the pillow and burrowed his head under it in complete and utter resignation, but it was a close thing.

 

===============

**Ten Days Later**

“Wake up Papa, wake up Daddy, it’s our birthday!”

Next to him Stiles let out an ‘oof’-sound when a wiggling, excited baby-werewolf jumped on top of him, and Derek cracked open one eye, pretending to be asleep for a second longer before he sat up, sweeping a beaming Maggie into his arms and kissing her cheeks.

“Technically, birthdays don’t start before 6 AM. Especially not on a weekend,” Stiles said, smiling through his yawn, and both girls shook their heads, pointing at the window, where the summer sun was already peaking through the curtains.

“It’s already day, Daddy! Presents!” Maggie exclaimed happily, hopping up and down on Derek’s stomach and Derek chuckled, catching her mid-hop and flying her in the air, her delighted laughter ringing through the house as the doors to her siblings’ rooms opened one after the other.

Many presents, puppy-shaped pancakes, and a whole bunch of hugs and kisses later the twins’ birthday party was in full swing and Derek, who’d been manning the grill for the better part of an hour, gratefully accepted a cold beer from his father-in-law, the two men watching Stiles play with the children and happy laughter ringing through the garden.

Noah and Mikey had graciously volunteered to be the evil pirates in Stiles’ elaborate birthday game-scheme and as he watched Mikey beam at his and Stiles’ completely oblivious human son Derek couldn’t help but feel a little wistful, partly amused and feeling just a little bit sad for the oldest McCall boy at the same time.

“That poor boy,” John Stilinski mused, but when Derek followed his gaze he wasn’t looking at Mikey but at Will Finstock, who, as Leonie’s best friend, had been invited to the party right along her boyfriend and had been glaring daggers at Charlie whenever Leonie wasn’t paying attention.

“You know, I was ready for one of your children to find their own Lydia Martin, but I didn’t quite expect them to _become_ someone’s Lydia Martin. Then again, he can always find his own Derek Hale, so I guess all is not lost,” the former Sheriff said and Derek nodded, looking back and forth between Leonie, who was animatedly talking to Charlie, and Will, who was clearly trying not to be miserable.

“ _Everyone_ should find their own Derek Hale,” Stiles spoke up behind them, having disentangled himself from the children without Derek or the Sheriff noticing and Derek grinned, turning his head to accept the slightly sweaty kiss Stiles planted on his cheek.

“Is that so?” Derek asked, eyebrows raised playfully, and Stiles nodded, taking a sip of his beer and looking at him adoringly.

“Definitely. Ten out of ten, would recommend,” he affirmed, kissing Derek once more and grinning against his lips when two tiny voices once more yelled “Ewwww, Papa, Daddy, gross!”

“You know what makes me happy?” Stiles asked a couple of hours later as they tucked the birthday girls into bed, “we might be done growing our family but the pack continues to grow and thrive and that’s … well … it took a damn long time to get here, and I’m just happy that we are.”

“Ditto,” Derek agreed, following Stiles back downstairs and out onto the porch, accepting a bottle of cold, wolfsbane-laced beer and settling back on the porch-swing, determined to enjoy the peace and quiet after their happy but certainly tiring day.

“I’m really thrilled about having a little one around again, but you know what, I’m actually quite happy that we get to sleep through the night this time,” Stiles said, taking a sip of his own beer and saluting Derek and Derek nodded, meaning it wholeheartedly.

“Definitely.”

“Well … until we babysit our first grandbaby, that is,” Stiles continued, grinning, and Derek snorted, taking another sip and glaring at Stiles half-heartedly.

“Don’t jinx it,” he said, turning his head when he heard Leonie approaching from the living room.

When their oldest stuck her head through the door he motioned her over to sit with them, scooting to the side so she could plop onto the swing between them.

“What’s up, Sweetie-Pie?” Stiles asked, ruffling her hair, and Leonie swatted his fingers away playfully, her toes flexing as she stretched out her long legs like a contented cat, looking just a tiny bit nervous as she looked back and forth between Derek and Stiles.

“There was something I wanted to ask you and Papa, Daddy. Do you think that … uhm … well … I mean … I … do you think that the pill is going to work if I’m a werewolf?”

For a moment there was stunned silence on the porch.

Then …

“Holy shit, Derek, I jinxed it!” Stiles exclaimed, looking horrified, and Derek closed his eyes briefly, sternly telling his wolf that no, he was not going to freak out about this, yes, at 16 she was a little too young for his comfort but that he’d rather have her talk to them about it before going off and potentially doing something stupid and no, going over to castrate his daughter’s 16 year old boyfriend as a precaution was socially frowned upon these days.

“Daddy? Papa?” Leonie asked, confused, and Derek opened his eyes, his panic somewhat soothed by the utterly hilarious look on Stiles’ face.

“Wait a second … nope, I didn’t jinx it, definitely didn’t jinx it, because Papa and I are _not_ ready for a grandbaby yet and we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen because we practice an open line of communication in this house! Ha! Take that, textbooks from the 1920s!”

Stiles grimaced, his breathing evening out somewhat when Leonie stared at him like she was seriously considering calling Eichen House.

“Deaton came up with a special kind of wolfsbane pill that’s worked for your Aunt Erica for years, baby-girl, so I’m pretty sure you’re going to be just fine if you’re smart and responsible about it,” Derek said gently and Leonie nodded in relief, her shoulders sagging as if she’d actually been afraid of the answer.

“It’s not like … I’m not … we’re not going to do it right tomorrow, or something but I think he … and I … well …”

“You’re not going to do anything you don’t want to do, right baby-girl?” Stiles asked seriously, his gaze fixed on Leonie but his fingers gripping Derek’s hand tightly behind her back, and Leonie nodded, her expression morphing into her signature ‘Silly Daddy’ look.

“I’m a werewolf, Daddy. I’ll use my claws if I have to. I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” Stiles said gravely, smiling when Leonie let out a relieved chuckle.

“That being said, though, the pill is nice and all but you once forgot to feed your goldfish for two weeks and it _died_ , so you should always go with double protection! Derek, please bring me a banana and a condom!”

“You know what Daddy, I changed my mind, I’m going to wait until I’m thirty!” Leonie meeped, mortified, but Stiles shook his head grimly, looking dead serious as he regarded their oldest.

“No way Sweetie-Pie, Daddy can’t handle a grandbaby until the twins are out of elementary school … at the _earliest_! So we’re going to do a little refreshment course because if we _don’t_ Papa won’t sleep at night any more and then he’s going to be grouchy and Daddy really prefers your Papa when he’s not grouchy, so this is non-negotiable. Derek my love, hand me the banana!”

“Not in front of our daughter I’m not,” Derek said drily, not even thinking about it, and when both Stiles _and_ Leonie burst into laughter he wondered whether he could bribe Noah, Cas, and his twins into staying little forever, the realization that his oldest was definitely not a little girl anymore a bittersweet feeling inside his chest.

Their pack was not as much growing as it was growing _up_ , and as he went to get the banana, Leonie’s and Stiles’ laughter still ringing through the air, Derek was both anxious and excited to see what the future had in store for all of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it, I was really happy to return to this verse! I fully credit a good friend of mine from high school who posted the video of her baby boy's gender-reveal party on Facebook on Saturday and made my mind go "Eureka! That's the angle for the next story!"
> 
> There are still some things left for me to write before I wrap up this verse for good, including:  
> \- the Stiles!POV story I promised ages ago  
> \- the first grand-baby (I had a whole story almost finished where that happened and then realized I'd written about the wrong Hale-kid becoming a parent first, so we'll see how much I can actually salvage from that one)  
> \- the first pack-baby wedding  
> \- a sad event that I'm going to do my best to write beautifully but that kind of has to happen eventually  
> \- and the last story (of which I wrote down 16 pages last year and actually had to stop because I was crying. That one's going to be rough, and not just because it's going to be the last of this not-so-little fan fic project of mine)


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